Tag: work

Last week I learned the awful news that my publisher and friend, Sheila Barry, recently passed away. Across Canada there are dozens if not hundreds of authors who share my sorrow at her passing, for she was a central figure in Canadian publishing, responsible for the publication of scores of extremely popular children's books, first... Continue Reading →

Last night Annie and I attended the opening of the Biennale. Its distinguishing conceit is that the work on display represents a selection of recent (2014-17) acquisitions by the National Gallery. So, not a truly contemporary biennale, but for all that a powerful one, featuring some exciting and intriguing artworks. The best work is –... Continue Reading →

Oral Culture = OS1 Literate Culture = OS2 Networked Culture = OS3 The rise of Donald Trump can be usefully understood as a product of the disruptive collision of oral, literate and digital cultures, or what I call OS1, OS2 and OS3, aka the Operating Systems (OS) of human civilization. That collision is the defining... Continue Reading →

Last night I was speaking with Moses, a visitor from Kenya, about the difficulty young people have finding jobs in his homeland, even when they have a degree. Because, he said, "It is not what you know that matters but who you know." Now this is a phrase I have also heard used to describe... Continue Reading →